Barb/Sader/Monk ranged build

Does any of the three classes have a “good” ranged build? With good I mean halfway easily capable of doing season journey / unlocking altar / doing rift - without having to change gear.
EDIT: Not planning to do it this season. Possibly next one. So current season theme doesn’t matter.

For crusader the Captain America build is a blast. Fun and easy to play but a bit of a pain to gear as it is a LoD based build.

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I assume it’s the LoD Blessed Shield Crusader (Diablo 3 Season 34 LoD Blessed Shield Crusader Guide - Maxroll.gg)?!
I also found a guide last updated in 2019 using the Armor of Akkham full set - I assume that doesn’t work any more?

LoD Blessed Shield is indeed the build I mean.

The Akkhan variant is dead as the set was changed from a generic, all purpose to focus on Phalanx & Condemn.

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AoV Fist/Pony is pretty much a ranged build. WoL Monk is also ranged. Strong but a little squishy. Barb only has Raekor Boulder toss.

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I think above beat me to it already. So shortly, Blessed Shield and FoH for 'saders, Raekor for Barbarians and LoD/SWK WoL for Monks. Also I think Monks have SWK LTK, but you can not find a proper guide on it out there and it’s somewhat weaker than WoL.

Akkhan can not use Blessed Shield but they can be a ranged build if you dare to use Phalanx- Bowmen instead of Shield Bearers skill rune.

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How would you folks rank those builds? Disregarding season themes/flavours which can obviously shake up any ranking (Just read that Captain America is totally outclassed by other Saders THIS season) but taking into account the altar, if that makes a difference.

Wave of Light Monk is one of those things that was “OG” busted back in the day, to such an absurd extent that even now, with buff after buff to other builds and classes and ZERO direct buffs to WoL itself, it’s STILL considered “strong.”

It’s not OP like it was in ages past, but it’s no slouch. Biggest weaknesses would be gear dependency (multiple slots are hard reqs and good affixes / rolls are required for optimal pushing) and low single target damage (though you can use Stricken if you really have to for RG kills).

I’ve always liked the Monk class, and WoL being so strong was actually an annoyance to me because it “felt” like playing a mage, when all I wanted was to channel my inner Bruce Lee :stuck_out_tongue:

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As I remember, Raiment of a Thousand Storm Set is pretty high tier in this current season as well.

I think LoD and SWK WoL Monks are top tier thanks to Sanctified power. The others mentioned get almost no benefit from the current Season aside from crowd control which is available to everyone.

Not for this season, I meant in general. Still holds?

They’re not “top tier” without this season’s power, by any stretch. However, if we go by Maxroll’s non-seasonal tiering list for solo GR pushing:

LoD WOL is A tier, and SWK is B. However, considering there are two “meme tiers” on that list (including “Rat Mage” Necro which gets his own special :poop: tier because that spec is just that bad by today’s meta standards) it basically means WoL is more or less “average” compared to everything else (garbage meme builds notwithstanding).

Which was kind of my point the whole time. WoL used to be STUPID strong, and then it got “nerfed by neglect” back down from orbit. Bottom line, it’ll hold up reasonably well regardless of seasonal shenans - but still worth noting that said shenans can and will push different builds and classes FAR beyond WoL Monk, unless it’s a season like this one where it benefits specifically.

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My suggestion

Monk: Wave of light
First go with Sunwuko set, but if you collect all the ancient items with good stats then the LoD build is definitely stronger

Sader: Fists of the heavens which is probably one of the easiest and strongest builds this season.

Barb: Technically Raekor is a ranged build with boulder toss

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Mighty throw barb is pretty cool.

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My FOH 'Sader totally destroys everything on the map, stuff you never even see. It has near 100 percent uptime on the pony and seldom runs out of steam. It can run lvl 100 + GRs in under 2 minutes and I never change out gear or gems unless it is the same item with better stats.

However, it struggles to do GR125 and up. Possibly because it is still fairly low paragon.

But all in all it is a blast to play. very satifying to simply hold down the right mouse and empty out the levels in breakneck speed.

This is by far the easiest build I have ever used. Absolutely my favorite!

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